Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is making a video game about space exploration.

Or trying to, anyway - the Kickstarter for the project went live on June 13 and runs through July 29. At the time of writing, they have raised US$100,121 of the US$314,159 goal (get it?).

The game, called Space Odyssey, would "allow players to travel through the cosmos to scientifically accurate planets, moons and exoplanets based in real science," according to a press release emailed to Business Insider.

Tyson's basic concept seems to be a captivating interactive experience that still follows scientific principles.

"I have no patience for people who say, 'I don't want the laws of physics to constrain me,'" Tyson said while discussing the game at the video game E3 convention in Los Angeles this week.

......

“The fundamental cause of the trouble in the modern world today is that the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.”— Bertrand Russell

A profound and eerie silence pervades the work of American photographer Gregory Crewdson. Nobody talks, nobody ever seems to laugh or smile. There's beauty but also sadness. Alone or in pairs, everyone is lost in their own thoughts or asleep.

Crewdson carefully constructs his tableaux and then bathes them in soft, suffusing twilight, real and artificial. Then he takes the photograph. Something has happened or is about to happen; we don't know quite what.

Crewdson believes that it's not enough to make a beautiful image. Something else has to be going on, "an undercurrent of something psychological or dangerous or desirous or fearful."

The current Humble Book Bundle is a collection of Wiley-Blackwell's "Fandom & Philosophy" books. Each book is a collection of essays connecting philosophical topics and issues to a particular type of fandom, including Star Wars, Bioshock, Dungeons & Dragons (and many more). Most of these essays are written by professional philosophers who are die-hard fans of the franchise in question, so you get an excellent look into both worlds: philosophy and fandom.For those not familiar with Humble Bundle: the general idea is that you can pay an amount of your choice to purchase a bundle of these books. $1 will get you 6 books, $8 will get you 6 more and $15 will get you 19 books in total.Most importantly: some of this money is donated to charity. How much? Well that's entirely up to you! You can adjust the sliders when you purchase to determine how much money you would like to go to charity, the publisher and to the Humble Bundle site itself.This bundle's selected charity is WaterAid America, which supplies people in need with clean water for drink and hygiene. WaterAid is a certified 4-star (top rating) charity according to Charity Navigator, the leading charity research group in the world. But if you'd rather donate your money to a different charity, that can be done by selecting one from the Humble Bundle charity database at the bottom of the page, just before payment.The list of books in the bundle are as follows:$1 Tier

Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering RealityFinal Fantasy and Philosophy: The Ultimate WalkthroughWatchmen and Philosophy: A Rorschach TestSuperman and Philosophy: What Would the Man of Steel Do?Metallica and Philosophy: A Crash Course in Brain SurgeryIron Man and Philosophy: Facing the Stark Reality$8 Tier (includes all books above)

The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy: The Search for SocratesHouse of Cards and Philosophy: Underwood's RepublicBioShock and Philosophy: Irrational Game, Rational BookSpider-Man and Philosophy: The Web of InquiryX-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-VerseFamily Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded$15 Tier (includes all books from both tiers above)

The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have LearnedGame of Thrones and Philosophy: Logic Cuts Deeper Than SwordsThe Hobbit and Philosophy: For When You've Lost Your Dwarves, Your Wizard, and Your WayDungeons and Dragons and Philosophy: Read and Gain Advantage on All Wisdom ChecksThe Walking Dead and Philosophy: Shotgun. Machete. Reason.The Ultimate South Park and Philosophy: Respect My Philosophah!Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There

Over de kwaliteit:

quote:

[–]alright87 27 punten 1 dag geleden Can anyone vouch for the quality of these?permalinkembedopslaanrapporterengold gevenreageren[–]ADefiniteDescription[S] 30 punten 1 dag geleden As with most anthologies of pretty much anything there is varying quality. I've looked through parts of a number of these books and found some essays which are just okay (sometimes not even that), but others which are very interesting and a lot of fun.On the whole I think they're worth it. Of course, those which are on topics you're most interested (the fandoms you're most interested in, and the philosophical topics you're most interested in) will be the best fit for you.